The Fiio Q1 MK ii is my first foray into portable devices which I bought to use on my travels. I use it paired with an iPhone SE and mainly running the Qobuz player to play imported music from their catalogue. I'm impressed by the sound quality of this quite tiny DAC/AMP and at the price it really is quite remarkable value. I also got the Fiio F5 IEMs which come with a balanced cable, although I have a personal preference for full-size headphones. For travel purposes the Bose QC35 (that I already had) fit the bill very well ... unsurprisingly not up to the SQ standard of my main headphones but more than adequate while on-the-go. In fact, I would say they match the Q1 very well (with the 3.5mm cable) although I feel they do need a boost from the GAIN switch on the Q1 to sound their best. I also tried it with Bass boost although this seemed to muddy the sound too much IMO. In any event, the QC35 are not bass-shy. All in all I am very satisfied with this purchase. An excellent product at the price.
FiiO Q1MKII- Native DSD Support, XMOS USB DAC chip, DAC AK4452, 20 hours
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Fwiw, I just re-posted my original review to the Head Gear section: https://head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-q1-mark-ii-apple-mfi-certified-dac-amp.22526/reviews#review-19679
@HiFiChris ... informative and well-written review. I noticed that the text labels that show on your photos are not visible on my unit, apart from an extremely faint headphone symbol in between the outputs which I can barely see ... it would seem to be a production fault on my unit. It doesn't affect the sound but it does make it harder to see what I'm doing when setting Gain/Bass ... I have to remember which way the settings are, or try by trial and error ... not ideal.
Lifted Andreas
Formerly known as geko95gek.
Oh wow, yeah that's definitely a manufacturing fault. I'd try and get that RMA'd if you can.
Mine are faint but they're definitely there.
A neat solution for the 5 series phones & iPods !
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Nice! Where did you get it? Looks perfect for my use.
slackerpo
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thank god i dont have to deal with that anymore.
not so proper volume match, but serviceable. it always impresses me how close everything is in midfi. the q1mk2 seems to have i tidbit more extension with bass, and better stereo. the bass boost is a gamechanger in the sound presentation. and for me, its what seals the deal.
the great about it imo, is that you can pair the two, and have the best of both worlds.
fiio nailed it big with this two.
Ynot1
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Tour unit was the same. I think someone mention the labels will be made better earlier.
CFGamescape
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Anyone using custom / third-party micro USB to Lighting cables? If so, can you point me in the right direction? There's a few options on eBay, but not sure of compatibility (I have messages out to the sellers):
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/172325662501?ul_noapp=true (I've bought from him before; would be my top choice, but I'm waiting on confirmation if this would work with the iPhone 8/8+ / newest iOS...gonna guess yes. Unsure if it'd work with non-Hugo equipment...not sure what determines this)
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/382268452284?ul_noapp=true (Item description doesn't mention iPhone 8/8+ and says it doesn't work with non-COZOY equipment, so I'm guessing this option is out)
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/263152465164?ul_noapp=true (Looks to work with different manufacturers, but no mention of FiiO and/or iPhone versions)
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mike138
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Oh man, I just re-purposed my wife's old iPhone 5 to go with my Q1mkII. Is that going to be on Amazon anytime soon?
CFGamescape
500+ Head-Fier
First one is confirmed to work with newest iPhone a and iOS. Second one does not work with newest iPhones. No word from third seller.
It also looks like Forza AudioWorks makes a micro USB / LOD cable, so that’s another good option.
Lifted Andreas
Formerly known as geko95gek.
Hey, do you use your Q1ii for gaming as well?
If so, how do you find it? Especially with your PC37x.
CFGamescape
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Haven’t tried but will give it a go sometime this week!
davehutch
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Does anyone know of a comparison review between the Fiio Q1 MkII and the Apple supplied DAC (the tiny white one that comes with the iPhone)?
I currently use my Westone W30s straight out of the iPhone for commuting and was curious to know what (if any) improvement I would get by using this Amp/Dac.
As a further improvement it would give me an option to buy a balanced cable for my W30s as well.
As each of those 'upgrades' costs under £100 it seems like a potential way to get the best out of my Westones without shelling out too much money.
I currently use my Westone W30s straight out of the iPhone for commuting and was curious to know what (if any) improvement I would get by using this Amp/Dac.
As a further improvement it would give me an option to buy a balanced cable for my W30s as well.
As each of those 'upgrades' costs under £100 it seems like a potential way to get the best out of my Westones without shelling out too much money.
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